The SteelCast

The last time the boys met up around a microphone it was Christmas, so there’s a lot for them to talk about. There’s been the Away Day 2 (with 3 on the way soon and selling out fast), Max has discovered the delights of sambuca, the Steelhouse Festival won a coveted NWOCR award, and Grant’s been the ‘Welsh ham’ in a guitar superstar sandwich. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s been a bunch of announcements for the Steelhouse 2022 bill that must be discussed, dissected and analysed in the customary professional manner. All this and much, much less awaits you on the 26th edition of the podcast that puts the ‘rock’ in ‘rare as rocking horse sh1t’. Enjoy!

It's Chriiiiiiiistmaaaaaaas! In the last 2021 episode of the ever-more-occasional SteelCast, Mikey and Max unwrap the first set of bands for Steelhouse 2022, and we’ve got music from three of them too. The pair also look back at the brilliant Rockstock Festival in Porthcawl, the spectacular Queen Symphonic show up in That London (which left Mikey with an equally spectacular bar tab) and the fantastic performances there by four Steelhouse stars. And in 2022 – variants permitting – there’ll be those two Steelhouse Away Days with Those Damn Crows (shot!) and that unstoppable Merthyr massive, Florence Black. Take care of each other good people, stay safe in this Age Of Omicron (yes, we’re living in a bad prog album now), and have a rockin’ 2022. M,M & G

It had to be done! It’s our first episode since that amazing weekend on The Mountain, so we’re looking back at a festival like no other in living memory. Mikey and Max talk through the goings on at the 10th Steelhouse Festival – from the very first festival comers pulling up (and thankfully having all their LFT stuff in order), to the fireworks that capped it all off gloriously (despite the fact it was Mikey with both of his left hands on the detonator). There’s backstage revelations, lots of fun memories, and Grant stole a few moments with members of Mason Hill, Those Damn Crows, The Darkness, and more of the other artists who played to probably the most up-for-it crowd they’ll ever have. So listen in to our longest ever episode, and relive a wonderful weekend with us, and the stars of Steelhouse 2021…

On the eve of the tenth anniversary Steelhouse Festival, Grant's all on his tod for a quick, utterly fascinating recap of the LFT/Covid test situation, but mainly a great conversation he, Mikey and Max had recently with Friday's headliners Phil and Dane Campbell of Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons. We talk about their band, Dane's own excellent podcast 'Drum For The Song', rock 'n' roll ailments, the art of being a musician, and Campbell boys share some Motorhead memories too. Stay Safe, have your negative LFT test handy, and - finally, friends - SEE YOU UP THE MOUNTAIN!

With Excel Goddess/Elephant In The Room Jo Goo working hard behind them, Mikey and Max discuss the amazing new headliner for this year's Saturday bill (no spoilers here). The lads have been hard at work prepping the weekend, Bob 'Macgyver' Goo has set up an eco-friendly, white-hot water system up there, and with July 23rd hoving into view, every time official Steelhouse Countdown Keeper Rachel posts an update, the organisers' bums get that bit squeakier. Our special guest this time is Henrik, frontman for brilliant Northampton prospects Empyre. They'll be opening up Sunday's proceedings this year, so tune in for a bit of background about the band, and some tunes from their debut album 'Self Aware' and its mainly-acoustic counterpart record, 'The Other Side', released today (Friday April 30th). Also, Grant name-drops the two superstar guitarists he’s been talking to for the day-job, we FINALLY announce the winner of our Thunder competition, and don't miss the moment Jo finally cracks and beats Max & Mike fiercely about the head with a fully loaded clipboard. Let's face it, they had it coming... You can find JH's Virgin Atlantic playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0BFu1Qu7VIwqe1LBLThij0?si=_EsMWOSLRSWG7ul0J5AmNA

Who better to spend our 21st edition with than The Dust Coda's guitarist, Adam Mackie! With the London NWOCR band's superb second album 'Mojo Skyline' out this Friday (March 26th), Adam reveals how they made the record off their own back, and then got their deal with Earache Records. He also remembers how TDC were on, off, then back on again during The Great Flood, aka Steelhouse Festival 2018 (it's Wales, it happens...) We're also joined by the band's singer John... oh, hang on, no we aren't - he was a no-show! But you know us, we don't make a big deal out it... With recent guests Mason Hill and Thunder doing well on the charts, Mikey and Max celebrate these ironically healthy times for rock music, and the pair revel in the sheer old-school delight of cracking on with work at Steelhouse HQ - filing paperwork never felt this good! They also give a bit of background on moving the Those Damn Crows (SHOT!) Away Day to next February, and the pair's curiosity is piqued by the mysterious new rock-related feature that Grant's got in his pipeline (nasty...) Big thanks to The Dust Coda boys and to Earache for letting us play their excellent new anthem 'Dream Alight'. You can read about and pre-order the album here: https://tinyurl.com/y84upvfd

After two glorious years of podcasting to literally dozens of people, our triumphant twentieth is the most packed SteelCast yet! In a WORLD EXCLUSIVE Mikey and Max announce the last three acts to join the Steelhouse 2021 bill – you’ll hear it here first people! We’re also joined via a particularly fizzy Zoom line by Thunder’s shy and retiring frontman Danny Bowes. Danny’s our guest for a great chat about the band’s genuinely excellent new album ‘All The Right Noises’, out today (Friday 12th). He tells us about the curveballs that The Thing has hurled Thunder’s way this past year, regales us with tales of his celebrity chum Dave Grohl, and recounts the childhood tricycle race that could have ended everything (really – it’s a miracle Thunder’s not an instrumental band…) He also gives us the background on the first Thunder TV Special, happening this weekend only (Saturday 13th-14th), for which you can get tickets here: https://tinyurl.com/58eh7n7m . And as if that weren’t enough, stay tuned for our competition, which will see one lucky SteelCast listener win a rare 7-inch piece of Thunder vinyl. Announcements, Danny Bowes, and a free 7-incher – what more could you ask?! For your listening pleasure, this episode’s Spotify Playlist (including the ‘Theme From Hawaii 5-0’, Mikey) is here: https://tinyurl.com/s6ru3fc2

On March 5th Steelhouse stars Mason Hill release their excellent debut album 'Against The Wall' on 7Hz Records. We were chuffed to catch up with singer Scott to chat about the making of the album, the band's colourful history and Scott's Steelhouse memories. There's an acoustic tune from the band too, and they take over the Steelhouse Instagram on Monday March 8th - search Steelhousefest on Insta for that. Also this time - Max and Mikey are getting deeper into Rob Halford by the day, Grant tries and fails to raise the tone with some Coleridge/BIll Murray, and we broach the subject of the PM's recent 'irreversible' announcement that - all being well - things should be getting back to normal in June. You'll find a bunch of the tunes mentioned in our Spotify playlist for this 19th episode: https://tinyurl.com/pa99pp8y. And Scott - time to dust off that dinosaur suit, sir...

If you’re after some cheap Chinese steel, this is the podcast for you! With Max cruelly Zooming from a virtual pub, we lament how we’re all currently barred from the nation’s favourite pastime. But there is a perfumed whiff of spring in the air, and if you listen closely enough you might hear the distant sound of – please Ozzy – the tide turning. And while we’re all waiting for that to happen, there’s nobody else’s time we’d rather waste more than that of Baz from the brilliant Massive Wagons. The singer remembers their early days as a covers band, playing to bikers and writing songs with questionable song titles; he discusses the band's growth into a serious Top 10 act, how they’re keeping the Wagons wheels turning in lockdown, and also reveals some of the records that have been keeping him sane in these interesting times. For info on Massive Wagons’ livestream gig (YES, GIG!) on March 18th go to: https://tinyurl.com/lj0pr3w2. Also this time, Max and Mikey high-five each other over Rob Halford’s new memoir ‘Confess’ (quick summary: ‘He does, and how’), and there’s adult chat about Kiss jigsaw puzzles, the plan for Steelhouse to do their bit for smaller bands on the rise, and the difficult second album from Max’s own band (if that’s of any interest, do listen to the very end). ALSO! We’ve started making a Spotify playlist to accompany each SteelCast, so you can enjoy the tunes that come up during out rock-related wittering. AC/DC, Airbourne, The Pretty Reckless and, of course, Massive Wagons are on this episode’s list, which you can find here: https://tinyurl.com/1ae1hmo1. Tune in and enjoy, friends! Baz and the boys put it best – we’re In It Together…

Much to fanboy Mikey’s delight, this time we've got a good, in-depth chat with Adam Irwin, bassist for the resurgent Black Spiders. We talk about the time the Sheffield-based band first burst onto the UK rock scene, supporting the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Airbourne and appearing at tons of festivals, including the very first Steelhouse back in 2011. Adam discusses their hiatus and re-formation, how Planet Rock star Wyatt Wendels ended up behind their drumkit, and what it was like recording new EP ‘Deaf Proof’ (out Feb 12th) and upcoming LP ‘Black Spiders’ (due March 26th) amidst a global pandemic. Big thanks to the Spiders too for letting us play not one but two of their latest bangers, ‘Fly In The Soup’ and ‘Good Times’. Bring on their turn at the tenth Steelhouse Festival! Also, Mikey discusses some of the bands he’s discovered during the current lockdown, and just as Max gets a bit bolshy about the upcoming, all-senior Steelhouse Vs Those Damn Crows football match, two familiar faces show up unannounced in our Zoom Waiting Room to give as good as they get, and discuss their excellent new tune ‘Sick Of Me’, which was released on the day of recording, Thursday Feb 4th. So join us for a star-studded 17th SteelCast, the only podcast that always goes in studs-up…

Happy New Year! It’s only January and Max has already been hitting the gym, in preparation for the upcoming Steelhouse Vs Those Damn Crows All-Star Football-Off! (Shane - your boys are 'going down', apparently...) Grant’s had a Christmas of life-shortening excess and wallows in some mince pie-related personal disappointment, while Mikey reveals the true shameful/admirable extent of his Kiss merchandise addiction/collection, though even he draws the line at owning ‘Hot In The Shade’. And after that band's spectacular New Year’s Eve concert in Dubai was streamed to millions of paying customers worldwide, we ponder the role that such streamed events will play in the post-Thing landscape. All this plus the usual rock ramblage and chat about the recently announced additions to July’s line-up – Hands Off Gretel, King Creature, Black Spiders, and, of course, the mighty Europe.

Don’t tell Farmer Jukes, but Anthrax will hit The Mountain in 2021! After the most warmly received announcement in Steelhouse history, Mikey and Max talk about their first exposure to The ‘Thrax (as nobody calls them), and attempt to rank The Big Four in order of preference – controversial! Therapy? are also another brilliant new addition to the bill, and Grant feels the urge to reveal their part in almost torpedoing his ‘journalistic career’ early doors. And with Mason Hill and Empyre on the Steelhouse undercard we discuss just why these bands are such an exciting prospect. Also in this rambling, ramshackle and – let’s face it – roughly recorded show, we take a look at the UK Rock Chart, broach the subject of AC/DC’s current platter ‘Power Up’ (spoiler: it’s an AC/DC album) and its place in the Dacca canon. Listen to three grown men say the word 'magical' too often as they wax lyrical about Rockfield, Monnow Valley and Real World studios, and Max continues to explore his lingering feelings for that much-missed Chippendale Of Rock, Kip Winger. If the thought of that doesn’t make you run Miles Away, then come join us on the SteelCast – the only podcast that’s Glam From The Waist Down…

As if to confirm that 2020's a total ruddy write-off, the tenth anniversary Steelhouse has been shunted to 2021. It was a difficult decision with 'The Thing' ultimately forcing their hand, but Mikey and Max have been overwhelmed by the support received from audience and crew alike. Join us for a sad but oddly uplifting chat about what's going on, and plans to make 2021's event the biggest and best it can be. Also, Rachel becomes Steelhouse's official clock-watcher, some band called THOSE DAMN CROWS joins the 10th anniversary bill, and there's talk of a one-off 'Steelhouse 2020 Postponed' T-shirt to raise money for those heroes on the NHS frontline (that's if Max ever gets round to finishing the design...)

In these times of uncertainty, it's good to know you can rely on The SteelCast to bring you poor-to-average sound quality, middle-aged male confusion and rock-related nonsense. Join us then as we offer updates on Steelhouse 2020, including our take on 'The Thing', and survey the latest brilliant additions to the lineup. **UPDATE!** The Those Damn Crows Away Day at The Tramshed has now been rescheduled for OCTOBER 2nd.Also we have some listener questions and decide the official status of Sh!t Shirt Friday, Mikey mulls over that eternal 'mutant elephant-gerbil' dilemma, and we hear a warming tale of marriage, romance and Love On A Mountain Top, which Max spoils completely (Paul, we're very sorry...) This too shall pass, Steelhouse friends. But in the meantime, listen, share, and 'be careful in there'!

With mince pies and sherry on our table, we get into the festive spirit with a look at the latest news on Steelhouse Festival 2020. Max and Mikey talk us through the latest announcements, but we got more than that, much more: find out why Max likes a lady with a bass and why his house is currently a building site (the two aren't connected). Hear Mikey's joyful views on Christmas and local promoters (it's actually all good), and listen as Grant gets full value out of the sleigh bells sample he dug out online and has a nice seasonal moan about illegible band logos. The link to Alun's unofficial, rights-friendly Steelhouse Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6MFa8tIlSAjiaJ5dNxENpp?si=vJymb9kqRNmEmoP5MASAJQ .That's a great way of getting a taste of the bands on the way. Then, once the New Year's Day hangovers have cleared it'll be 2020, and we'll all be back up The Mountain before you know it. From the three of us, thanks for listening to our drivel this year, and HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

It's SteelCast Season Two - Winter Is Coming and your countdown to Steelhouse 2020 begins here! Mikey and Max talk about the first set of bands to be announced - REVIVAL BLACK, CROWN LANDS, MONSTER TRUCK, THE KRIS BARRAS BAND, PHIL CAMPBELL & THE BASTARD SONS and TOM KEIFER. Grant speaks to Phil Campbell about his own experience at Steelhouse (his wife probably hasn't let him drive her car since) and his excellent, star-studded solo album 'Old Lions Still Roar', out now on Nuclear Blast. One of the album's standout tracks is 'Left For Dead', sung by Hand Of Dimes' Nev MacDonald, and he tells us how he ended up on the record along with Dee Snider, Rob Halford, Alice Cooper. Also your hosts discuss hot topics of the day including this thing called NWOCR - what it is, why it's a good thing and, the correct way to pronounce it. Probably...Huge thanks to Revival Black for letting us spin 'Wide Awake', from their debut album 'Step In Line' - available from good record shops and www.revivalblack.com. That Crown Lands performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeG2Cmsd1UE

If you were at the Tramshed on Friday 13th in September you'll know what a lucky one it was! The first Steelhouse Away Day was a top night, with music from HOLLOWSTAR, THE KRIS BARRAS BAND and, with NEV MACDONALD on lead vox, the legendary BERNIE MARSDEN. Join us as we speak to the stars of a really special (and pretty sweaty) event, which saw 1000 people ready an' willing (yeah?) to sing along to some all-time great classic rock. (Special thanks to Darren @darrengriffithsphotography for this great shot of Bernie doing what he does...)

As the sun sets on this year's festival we look back at the final day of a vintage Steelhouse. We speak to Thin Lizzy's Scott Gorham and Ricky Warwick, Living Colour's Vernon Reid and their special guest Bernie Marsden (pictured), Mick 'Happy Days' Box of Uriah Heep, Tax The Heat's Alex, Danko Jones, The Amorettes and Wille of Wille And The Bandits. Mikey and Max get a bit misty-eyed about their kids' part in the Steelhouse story (they really do folks), and they try to work out where it all went right. Their wives made sure they ended up with flan flung on their face - only by the actual, real live Phantom Flan Flinger himself!

Saturday July 27th - blue skies, warm breezes, the Cloven Hoof rum cocktails going down nicely. LIBERTY LIES kicked off another beautiful day of rock 'n' roll, before RYDERS CREED got metal on our asses, HOLLOWSTAR got a rapturous reception, and THE WILD! proved you could rock tf out and still mind your p's & q's. As for CROBOT, they were the band men wanted to be in and women wanted to... well, you get the rest. GUN fired their unfeasibly large set of hits at us, and who else would you want to soundtrack a beautiful sundown in the Welsh hills but THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT. In the evening there was eventually THUNDER on the mountain, but it was only the very best kind this year (for once). Mikey tried not to set fire to the production office while Jo 'actually the one in charge' Goo was enjoying Brandon Crobot's charms. Things ran so unusually smoothly that at one point Max double-checked the battery in his radio, and Grant did his very best to hone his Outside Broadcast skills as he went (sorry, audio nerds). The sights, the sounds and, yes, the smells, are all here for you to re-live, on our Steelhouse 2019 Saturday review! [This shot of Brandon is courtesy of the brilliant Darren Griffiths: @darrengriffithsphotography. Cheers Darren!]

There was a yellow thing up in the sky. Surprised pale people applied lotion to their skin and ordered another pint of Road Crew, and Steelhouse 2019 was GO! In the first of three special SteelCasts, Mikey and Max look back at the first day of a vintage weekend for the Little Classic Rock Festival That Could. Grant speaks to Phil from festival openers BLACKWATER CONSPIRACY, Dave from the hugely promising RISING SOULS, some blokes from some band called THOSE DAMN CROWS (shot!) and the headliners of an unforgettable Four Nations Friday, MASSIVE WAGONS (their LinkedIn picture attached). Listen to three men get a bit misty about the first day of a truly memorable weekend. And whether you were there or not, if you like what you hear then please Like, Subscribe, Follow and pass on the word about the SteelCast to those you think would enjoy it. It's made by and for lovers of classic rock music. On a mountain. With a terrifying road. All questions to steelcast@steelhousefestival.com.